The reasons annexed to the second commandment, the more to enforce it, contained in these words, For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments;¹ are, besides God's sovereignty over us, and propriety in us,² his fervent zeal for his own worship,³ and his revengeful indignation against all false worship, as being a spiritual whoredom;⁴ accounting the breakers of this commandment such as hate him, and threatening to punish them unto divers generations;⁵ and esteeming the observers of it such as love him and keep his commandments, and promising mercy to them unto many generations.⁶